Telemagenta
by SpiritSoul698
Summary: After losing her partner Roman Torchwick, Neo vows to never return to Cinder. Returning to the ruins of Vale, she finds that two gangs are currently at war with each other. She soon finds her place among a group of six girls, the gang "TLMGNTA". If only she could figure out why she finds herself infatuated with the leader, who bears a striking resemblance to her old friend.
1. Chapter 1 - Hate

**Hello! This is my first RWBY fic so reviews are greatly appreciated. Thanks!**

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The night that Beacon fell. It was a night that no one in all of Remnant, especially the citizens of Vale, would forget. Many would recall the evening and mourn the unspeakable tragedy that took place, but a select few would look back and celebrate the beginning of a new era: an era of darkness. Little Neopolitan, or 'Neo' for short, should have been one of those select few celebrating on that night, but how could she when, in the wake of the rising chaos, she'd managed to lose the one person who was closest to her - her partner, Roman Torchwick.

Even now, days later, she could still see the events play out in her mind as if they had occurred just hours ago. Everything had been going perfectly - she'd busted Roman out of his holding cell, and together they had hijacked an airship and manipulated the general's robotic guards into attacking the citizens instead of the monsters.

Then that damn red-haired, scythe-wielding student from the academy showed up.

At first, it seemed like everything would still work out. The fight that broke out between Neo and the female student had resulted in the scythe wielder being disarmed, barely holding onto the side of the ship for dear life. Neo knew that a fall from such a height would most certainly result in death, not to mention that there were hundreds of griffons surrounding them that were eager to swoop in and gobble the girl whole. She had extended the blade inside her umbrella and pointed it at the red head, fully prepared to swing at the her hand and send her plummeting to her death as soon as Roman finished his little triumphant speech. Neo had not, however, expected the girl to press the button which opened her umbrella, sending her flying off the airship into the swarm of flying grimm.

Neo hugged her legs closer to her body. The sound of Roman's voice screaming her name as she was sent flying off the ship still haunted her.

Miraculously, she had managed to survive her terrifying descent through talons and feathers that night, but not without damage to both herself and her weapon. Her partner had not been so lucky.

Hesitating for a moment, she took her scroll out of her pocket and tapped the slightly cracked screen to view her messages. She swiped her finger until she found the ones she had sent to Roman on that very night.

 _\- Hey, I've landed. Did you kick Little Red's ass yet?_

But ten minutes had passed and she hadn't received any response back. Strange, he usually finished his fights by now...

 _\- Roman?_

 _\- Roman!_

 _\- C'mon, stop messing with me! It's no fun down here!_

And that was when she saw it: the airship she had just been on, falling to the ground, explosions erupting from all sides as it plummeted downward. She found herself paralyzed with fear during and moments after the crash. She feared the worst.

 _\- ROMAN THE SHIP JUST CRASHED TEXT ME NOW!_

She received no response.

 _\- DID YOU GET OFF?!_

Nothing.

 _\- ROMAN!_

Not a single word back.

 _\- Please...Oh god please don't leave me…_

 _\- Please…_

Tears were welling up in the girl's mismatched eyes as she finished reading the final message she'd sent. Putting her scroll away, she looked down by her feet. There, lying in front of her, were Roman's hat and cane. It was all that was left of him.

Neo picked up these two objects and held them close, shutting her eyes as tears streamed down her face. She wished this was all just a bad dream, that she'd suddenly wake up and find her partner in crime still alive and well. But every time she opened her eyes she was confronted with the sight of the ship crash, her injuries, the shadows of lingering nearby Grimm, and the two objects before her.

Why? Why did it have to be this way? Roman was the only one who ever cared about her, and the only one she ever cared about. Now he was gone; she was alone again.

Overhead, the sound of thunder echoed through the ruins, signaling the coming arrival of rain.

This… this tragedy could've been prevented, she realized. Her grip on the hat and cane tightened. If she and Roman hadn't been so foolish to start working for Cinder… if they had chosen to run away when they had the chance… the fight with Little Red wouldn't have happened. The ship wouldn't have crashed. Roman would still be here.

"Stupid...stupid...stupid!" her mind screamed, the hand which held the cane shaking as she gripped the weapon with all her might. "You made a horrible mistake! You didn't even try to go back! You left him to fight alone! How could you let him-"

Her anger boiling over, Neo stood up and opened her eyes just in time to notice a beowolf lunge at her. She dropped the hat. Gritting her teeth, she held the cane with both hands and fired despite the tears blurring her vision.

Her first shot nicked the Grimm's shoulder.

Her second shot hit its arm.

Her third shot missed completely.

She couldn't focus, not with the plethora of angry and mournful thoughts racing through her head.

Suddenly, an image of Cinder began to materialize before her. A smile was spread across the black-haired woman's face, giving a false sense of motherly love. "Neo, sweetie, I'm glad I found you," she said. "Roman was such a hard worker. I know you and him were very close. I'm so terribly sorry for your loss."

Neo gritted her teeth so hard her mouth began to hurt. The thunder rumbled overhead again. She aimed the cane at Cinder's heart. _Like hell you are,_ she thought to herself. Screw Cinder and her plan. She didn't care anymore. She wasn't going back.

Ever.

She fired. The illusion shattered into pieces like glass as the shot passed through it, landing a direct hit on the beowolf. But Neo didn't stop firing. She imagined what Cinder's screams of agony would sound like as she shot round after round, acting as if the illusion was still there before her.

She fell to her knees as soon as she could take no more. As she gasped for air, the beowolf collapsed and after a few seconds faded into nothing. But the girl did not look up. She kept her head lowered and stared at the dirt underneath her, wishing that the liquid which was starting to drench it was not her tears and the pouring rain, but rather the blood of the one who started all of this. The one who led to Roman's demise.


	2. Chapter 2 - Look Alike

Every day seemed exactly the same as the last. Neo had lost track of time. It could've been another week or more before she finally forced herself to leave the site of the ship crash. Her wounds mostly healed, she slowly made her way towards the remains of the kingdom of Vale, holding her umbrella and Roman's belongings close.

It was so quiet in the abandoned kingdom you could've heard a pin drop. Every window was dark, and the streets were littered with trash and rubble. It was hard to believe that just a week or so ago the place had been filled with people from all over Remnant, awaiting the results of each round of the Vytal Festival. Admittedly, Neo had enjoyed participating in the tournament with Cinder and her two accomplices Emerald and Mercury. During that time she'd disguised herself as a black-haired girl named "Night," knowing that Little Red and her teammates would surely try and attack her the moment they realized who she was. Sneaking past your enemies was rather painless when your semblance was creating realistic illusions.

Neo winced when she heard her stomach growl. She'd found very little to eat near the ship. She'd tried to hunt with her blade and Roman's cane, but had only been able to shoot down one small bird. She'd struggled to even get a fire going as she was running out of things to burn. Now the hunger pains were back again. She needed something much more substantial soon.

Her eyes widened when she suddenly came across a familiar street-side restaurant - A Simple Wok. She'd eaten here a few times before. It wasn't her first choice of restaurants, but she recalled that the food had been surprisingly rather tasty. Maybe there was still something left?

At this point, Neo didn't care whether the food was a week or more old; she needed something to eat. Smiling, she hurried over behind the counter and began to scrounge around for anything edible. She lifted the lids on pots, checked the cabinets, and even peered into the trash. There was nothing.

Neo's face fell. Either someone else had cleaned the place out after the owner had fled, or the Grimm had gotten to the remaining food first. With a sigh, she hung her head and trudged along, her stomach growling again in protest as she left the roadside bar.

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The next time Neo lifted her head, she found herself in the middle of a street lined with shops. There were clothing boutiques, a hairdresser, a music store, a scroll repair shop, and finally a dust shop.

Neo stared up at the dust shop, reading the name which was displayed in bronze lettering above the door - "Dust to Dust." She gripped Roman's hat and cane a little tighter. They'd successfully robbed this store together once, just the two of them with no useless, dimwitted henchmen to slow them down. It had been quite fun. As she recalled the moment, she could almost hear the gunshots that had been ringing out as she and Roman had fled the scene…

She abruptly snapped out of her trance. No, wait, those really were gunshots coming from inside the shop!

Without warning, the left window shattered and someone jumped out. Eyes wide, Neo backed away a few steps as the person held one hand out to brace themselves as they landed on two feet just a few feet away. As the person lifted their head to look at her, Neo immediately noticed two things about them: they had a pair of golden eyes, and an extra pair of ears - tan ears speckled with small, black dots - sticking out from a crop of ebony black hair. A faunus? She eyed the dark-skinned girl with curiosity. Had Roman been here, he probably would've made a remark of disgust upon seeing her.

"You!" the faunus girl shouted. Without warning, she tossed a small white bag at Neo. "Hold this!"

Alarmed, Neo dropped her belongings and caught the bag with both hands. She peered inside and saw a multitude of dust crystals and vials, glittering in almost all colors of the rainbow. When she glanced up again to look at the faunus girl, she watched as the black-haired girl extended a grappling hook from her right claw-like weapon and launched herself back into the fray.

Bewildered by the events that had just taken place, Neo stood motionless, staring at the spot where the faunus had just been. What was going on? Was there so little dust left in the kingdom that fights were breaking out in the shops? Once she finally snapped out of her daze, she knelt down and began to pick up her belongings which she had dropped. She opened her umbrella slightly to check the fabric, which she had managed to fix while she'd been lingering near the ship crash. A smile spread across her face upon seeing it was still fully intact.

Suddenly, the doors of the dust shop flew open and tore off their hinges as a large burst of fire barged through the opening. Frightened by the unexpected explosion, Neo fully opened her umbrella and shut her eyes to protect herself from the fire. Only when she no longer felt the intense heat of the flames did she open her eyes again and lower her weapon. When she saw the person who had been hit by the blast lying on the ground, her eyes widened as a huge mix of emotions - shock, grief, and awe - raced through her.

This person looked… almost like a younger, female version of Roman.

The girl's long hair was a pale orange color with the bangs swept to the left side of her face. She had a white coat on, although hers was longer than Roman's had been; its sleeves were embroidered with burgundy, and the bottom of the coat had small gold diamond pattern. Tied onto the coat's left sleeve was a magenta bandana with the letter 'T' embroidered in purple. The only thing that was missing from the girl's ensemble was a hat.

The Roman look-alike did not notice Neo staring at her. Leaning on one knee, she gritted her teeth and whipped out a silver and pale blue pistol as another person stepped outside. More gunshots continued to be fired inside the building as he walked down the steps towards her.

"Ash! Your leader told us a few days ago we were allowed to scavenge on this part of your premises!"

Ash smirked as the girl attempted to stand, ultimately failing due to her injuries.

"Sorry, Terra," he replied, stopping just a few feet in front of the orange-haired girl. He reached into his pocket and produced a red dust crystal. "There's been a change of plans. Carwyn ordered us to dispose of you."

Terra gripped her pistol even tighter, but when she tried to fire, the gun only produced a clicking sound. Her eyes widened - the gun was broken. "That son of a bitch…" she muttered, once again struggling to stand.

The moment that Ash tossed the dust crystal into the air, Neo made her move. She ran until she was standing directly in front of Terra, then opened her umbrella as Ash fired his weapon at the shard, protecting both of them from the explosion that was produced. Before Ash could even react to her presence, Neo rushed forward and knocked the man back with her parasol. She then flourished her blade from the top and slashed at his midsection before ultimately knocking him down with a swift kick to the face. Only when she was certain that Ash was not going to immediately get back up did she retract her blade and turned to face Terra. Her heart ached a little upon seeing more of her features. She even had Roman's emerald green eyes…

Terra wiped the surprised expression off her face as Neo stared down at her and smirked. "Thanks, but I totally had him," she said, even though she knew deep down that it was a blatant lie. If only Ash hadn't broken her gun! She finally forced herself to stand, and after dusting herself off she stared down at Neo, eyeing her curiously. She frowned after a moment. "You know, a little girl like you shouldn't be out in a place like this. What are you doing out here?

Neo's became rather ticked off upon being referred to as a "little girl." Sure, she was short, but she was mature! She hated being compared to a twelve year-old. But before she could even think of a way to respond, she suddenly realized that Ash was getting back up again, and he clearly wasn't happy.

"You little shit," he growled, clutching his abdomen as he glared at Neo. "You're going to pay for that."

She turned, readying the blade of her umbrella once more as Ash stood up, and prepared herself to strike as she waited for the moment he would rush towards her and Terra.

The guy had hardly taken a step before a loud gunshot rang out and he went stock-still.

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 **Author's note: I really appreciate all of you who have taken the time to read this! Not to be rude or annoying but could someone PLEASE give me a review? I don't want to be left in the dark. Please let me know what you think, good or bad.**


	3. Chapter 3 - Subtraction

**Thank you Softerthansin for that super nice review! And thanks everyone for following! It means so much to me that so many of you are interested in this story! I'll continue to update as often as I can. Just trying to balance this with school and personal stuff at the moment. Enjoy the chapter!**

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As Ash's body fell to the ground, Neo lowered her umbrella and looked to see just who had fired the shot. There, standing in the doorway of the shop, was a girl dressed entirely in a dark blue color that matched her hair, which was tied in a single braid. She appeared to be a bit older, possibly nineteen, and had a scar on her right cheek. In her hands was a white shotgun with a fancy blue swirl pattern along the top. Just like Terra, she also had a magenta bandana tied around her left arm.

Terra grinned at the girl. "Thanks, Midnight. About time one of you finally came to save my ass. I was about to be incinerated."

Midnight did not return the same smile.

"I noticed." She quickly ejected a shell from the magazine. "You're welcome."

Terra walked until she was standing directly beside Neo, and it was then that the shorter girl finally noticed that the gunfire had abruptly ceased inside. "Did you and the girls take care of the others?"

Midnight's shotgun quickly transformed into a sword and sheath as she walked down the steps. She attached the weapon to her belt before meeting Terra's eyes again and sighed, shaking her head.

"No. After Ash caused that first explosion, Laurel and I got separated from the others." She sighed and wiped away a bit of blood that was dripping from her forehead. "Robin almost destroyed us."

Neo watched Terra's face take on a frustrated expression, but it was only present for a few seconds before the orange-haired girl calmed down again.

"There were three members of SCARLET who broke into the building. Do you have any idea who the third person was who attacked us?" Terra suddenly furrowed her brow, and her voice became so quiet that Neo could hardly hear her. "...Was it Leaf?"

Midnight shook her head again. "I don't know. I'm sorry."

Neo noticed the mixture of disappointment and anger on Terra's face as the orange-haired girl's hands clenched into fists. Whoever this "Leaf" was, Neo guess that he or she must have been very close to Terra. She wondered just what had come between the two of them and caused them to split.

"Well, no matter." With a sigh, Terra placed her pistol back into its holster and stared down at Ash, resting her hands on her hips. She placed her foot on his body and kicked him, causing him to limply roll over. "The important thing is that we have one less opponent to worry about."

"Indeed," Midnight said, nodding once. It was then that she finally noticed Neo standing nearby, and her eyes narrowed. "Who's this?"

Terra sighed and raised her arms. "I don't know! She hasn't spoken a word." She turned to face Neo. "Sweetie, would you mind telling us your name?"

Quickly, Neo held her umbrella in the same hand that was holding the small bag of dust and reached for her scroll, but she quickly stopped when she heard a voice call Terra's name. She turned to face the shop again. The girl who had spoken had dark brown hair, a plain green dress with long sleeves, and held a rapier in her left hand. The faunus girl from earlier came out soon after. Neo noticed that both of them had identical magenta bandanas on their left arms.

When the faunus girl saw Neo walk up to her and hand her the bag of dust, she smiled. "Thanks!" The blades of her claw-like weapons retracted themselves, allowing her to take the bag from Neo without damaging anything. She brushed her black bangs out of her eyes as she peered inside, ensuring that there was the same amount of dust in the bag as when she had first tossed it to Neo before walking over and showing Midnight.

Terra, meanwhile, was currently doing a headcount.

"Two...three...fo-" She suddenly frowned. "Girls, where are Aqua and Nightingale?"

Everyone immediately stopped what they were doing and glanced at each other, hoping that someone would have an answer. There was only silence. Neo's eyebrows raised slightly. What had happened?

Suddenly, the girl in the green dress turned towards the dust shop and gasped, eyes widening. "Oh my gosh!"

Everyone, Neo included, followed her gaze. They watched as a girl with dark turquoise hair emerged from the smoke, holding a brown-haired girl's limp body in both arms.

Terra stared in shock for a moment before snapping out of her daze. She lightly shoved the girl in the green dress towards the two girls. "Laurel, hurry!" she exclaimed. "Heal her!"

Laurel emitted a quiet squeak as she was pushed, but quickly rushed over and knelt down beside Nightingale as the turquoise one gently put her down on the steps. She placed her hands over the wound on the dark-haired girl's chest, and before long a soft glow began to shine from underneath Laurel's fingertips.

Terra was doing her best to keep calm, but her worry was clearly present on her face as she met the turquoise girl's eyes. "Aqua, what happened?!" she asked.

Aqua cast a quick concerned glance in Laurel's direction before looking back at Terra.

"When Ash caused that first explosion, we were blinded by the smoke. Before we could do anything, someone attacked us. They stabbed Nightingale and took her weapon. I couldn't even land a hit on them before they disappeared again."

Terra's eyes widened. "They took Serenade Wind?!" She turned her head to watch Laurel attempting to heal Nightingale.

Neo glanced around at each of the girls. All of this was rather overwhelming, but she felt compelled to stay a little longer, just to see if Nightingale was going to be okay. She watched Laurel's expression as she did her best to concentrate on the task at hand, but her focused expression quickly fell. Slowly, she pulled her hands away and lifted her head as the glow disappeared from her hands.

"I-I…" Laurel looked as if she was trying to prevent herself from crying. "I-I can't. It's too late." She hung her head in shame. "I'm sorry…"

A hush fell over everyone as they realized what Laurel was saying. Terra's face seemed to show the most complex of emotions. It was clear to Neo that she was struggling to keep it together.

"She's… dead?" Terra's hands shook as they clenched into fists. She lowered her head. When she spoke again, her voice sounded like she was on the verge of tears. "I swear, whoever did this is going pay!"

Suddenly, Neo noticed something out of the corner of her eye - someone was standing a few yards away, watching them. Neo turned her head towards the observer to get a better look at him or her. It was a girl with dark eyes and snow-white hair in two long braids. Her demeanor, as well as her fancy white and red outfit, hinted at high social class - she was most likely from Atlas.

Hang on… were those ice skates on her feet?! Where was the ice even coming from?!

With her free hand, Neo tapped Midnight on the shoulder, pointing in the direction of the white-haired girl as Midnight turned to look at her. When Midnight saw the girl standing there, she quickly grabbed her sword and sheath, causing it to transform into a shotgun again, and aimed.

The other girls all followed Midnight's gaze upon suddenly realizing she had drawn her weapon. When Terra finally took notice and met the girl's eyes, the girl in white smiled at her malevolently and held up a pair of fancy daggers with her right hand.

Terra's eyes went wide upon seeing the pair of daggers, and very quickly her shock turned into rage. "You…You did it!" she yelled. "You killed her!"

She lunged forward, but the faunus girl quickly grabbed her arms and held her back.

"Damn you, Eira!" Terra struggled to break free, but the faunus' grip was strong. "Let go of me, Tawny!"

But Tawny didn't release her. "Terra, calm down! You're going to attract-!"

"You take everything from me!" Terra continued to scream at the Eira, tears beginning to stream down her face. "How much more must you take before it's enough?!"

Eira snickered upon seeing Terra's tears and quickly placed the dual daggers in her belt. She waved her hand and stuck out her tongue as she began to skate away, ice forming on the path before her and disappearing behind her as she moved forward.

"Shoot her, Midnight!" Terra shouted, glaring furiously at the tall blue-haired girl. "Don't let her escape!"

Quickly, Midnight turned a small dial on the side of the gun, causing the dark-blue swirl design to suddenly begin to glow red. She fired three times.

Neo could see that the bullets Midnight had fired were infused with fire dust. She watched as Eira abruptly stopped upon hearing the gunfire. But to her surprise the girl smirked. Without warning, the white-haired girl waved her left arm in a wide arc, causing her to reveal her weapon. In the second that passed, Neo could see that Eira's weapon resembled some kind of fancy, silver magic wand.

The wand suddenly began to glow a pale green color, and before long Neo felt a strong, sudden gust of wind hit her. In a split second Midnight's dust bullets exploded, obscuring the area with smoke. Everyone covered their eyes and turned away to protect their eyes and lungs. After a few seconds, however, Terra abruptly broke free from Tawny's grasp and ran.

"I won't let you get away!" she shouted, running towards where she thought Eira was standing. But she quickly became overcome by the smoke and her injuries and fell to her knees. Lowering her head, she repeatedly beat her fist against the ground in anger as the smoke began to clear. "No no no!"

When Neo looked up again, Eira was gone, as was the ice that had been present moments ago. She glanced over at Terra after a few seconds. She took a few steps towards the orange-haired girl, but quickly stopped as Laurel made her way over to her as well. Laurel gently placed a hand on Terra's shoulder as Terra lifted her head.

"It's okay, Terra." The brown-haired girl had a kind smile on her face. "We'll get her next time."

"You said that same thing two days ago," Terra responded in an irritated tone as she stood up, wiping her tears away with her sleeve. "And look what happened." With a sigh, she dusted herself off, then took out her blue and silver pistol. "What the hell am I supposed to do now? Winter Crown is broken, and now Serenade Wind is gone. I have no weapon to use."

"Glitter will fix it. You know how good she is with repairing most weapons."

Neo raised her eyebrows upon hearing Laurel mention a weapon fixer and looked down at her parasol. Although she'd managed to repair the tears in the fabric, it could still use some better patching up and fine tuning. Perhaps this "Glitter" could do that for her?

"Hey Terra! I think I found something for you to use in the meantime!"

Neo turned her head when Tawny spoke, wondering what the faunus girl had found. However, when she saw what Tawny was holding, her eyes widened. It was Roman's cane. How could she have forgotten to pick it up?!

Terra eyed the cane for a few moments before meeting Tawny's eyes. She raised an eyebrow skeptically. "A cane? Do you expect me to just whack my opponents with that? I'll be the laughing stock of the ruins of this kingdom."

"No, look!" Tawny raised Roman's cane slightly, and the targeting circle popped up. "It's also a g-"

A rush of anger suddenly surged through Neo. How dare they try to use Roman's cane as if it suddenly belonged to them! Without warning, she rushed forward and snatched it out of Tawny's hands. As the faunus girl stared down at her with wide eyes, Neo clutched her partner's weapon tightly, holding it close to her body to get the message across that the weapon belonged to her.

It took Tawny a few seconds to understand. "Oh… it's yours?" An apologetic look spread across her face as her speckled ears drooped. "Sorry about that. I just saw it laying on the ground and assumed it didn't belong to anyone."

Neo's anger subsided a little after Tawny's apology, but she was still a little ticked off. No one was going to touch this cane unless she allowed it, and she didn't see that happening anytime soon. She quickly picked up Roman's hat as well.

A long, loud howl followed by snarls quickly broke the silence that had fallen. The girls were all on their guard in an instant. Of course. The chaos and anger from earlier had managed to attract Grimm.

"We've got company," Midnight announced. She ejected her used round and turned. "Tawny, back me up!"

The faunus girl hurried over until she was standing beside her blue-haired comrade. As the blades of her claw-like weapons appeared, she turned her head to look back at the others. "You go on ahead, girls. Back to the base. We got this."

The other girls nodded their heads before taking off down a nearby alleyway. Terra hesitated before she started to follow them, but quickly stopped when she realized Neo hadn't moved. "Why aren't you moving?! C'mon!"

Neo's eyes widened as she suddenly found herself being dragged along, away from the sounds of gunfire and snarling Grimm. She clutched her belongings tightly, wondering just where she was being taken.


	4. Chapter 4 - Mourning Hour

**Thank you SofterThanSin and meeyaaargh3412 for your really nice reviews! Also, wow, ten followers! This is a first. I'm so glad that so many of you are interested in this story. It makes me so happy.**

 **Enjoy this chapter! I'm warning you, though. It's a little sad.**

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The base was apparently located in the remains of a partially demolished apartment building. Most of the structure was still intact, save for a noticeable hole in the top and many broken windows.

As she and Terra got closer, Neo noticed that there was a long, black tarp on the side of the brown building. When they caught up to the other girls, Terra let go of Neo's hand. Without saying a word, she walked over to the tarp and lifted it, ushering everyone inside.

Neo wasn't sure what to expect when she stepped inside, but it turned out that the interior actually wasn't too bad. It was certainly a bit cleaner than she had expected. They were now in what had originally been the hotel lobby. The tables and chairs had been pushed to make one large open space. The entire room was lit by a few lamps, and a few banners hung on the walls. One banner on the wall directly across from Neo was a dark magenta color, like the girls' bandanas, and read "TLMGNTA."

The area behind the lobby desk seemed to have been transformed into some sort of mechanic's workplace. The shelves and counter were covered with a whole assortment of items, including hammers, screwdrivers, wrenches, screws, bolts, large sheets of metal, and a few blueprints, large and small. A large, strange metal contraption lay underneath a tarp. A girl with silver hair in pigtails was sitting behind it. When the girls walked inside, she looked up from her work and smiled upon seeing them.

"Hey girls! How was it? Did you get a lot of dust?" She looked down at her work again and continued to turn the screwdriver she was currently holding, putting a screw into place. "Moonlight Relica's coming along quite nicely! Still trying to get a few things working right but I should have it fully functioning in about two weeks! I can't wait to finally test it out!"

'Moonlight Relica?' So it was a weapon? Neo craned her neck to try and get a better view of the contraption under the tarp, but it was hidden well. The most she could see were a few metal blades sticking out from underneath the covering.

The silver-haired girl giggled. "Still can't let you all see it yet, though! Want to keep it a surprise."

The others said nothing in reply. They only stared at the girl with somber expressions.

She slowly stopped working upon noticing the others' melancholy behavior. Carefully, she put down her tools. "...Girls? What's wrong?" she asked, casting worried glances at each of them.

Aqua stepped forward after a moment of silence, keeping her head lowered.

"Glitter…" She paused, seemingly trying to come up with the words to say. "Nightingale's… gone. Eira killed her during our raid."

Glitter's pale blue eyes widened. "G-gone?" She turned away slightly in her chair, staring down at nothing in silence for a few moments. Soon, she brought her hands to her face. "Oh my god…"

Silence fell between them all once again, seemingly lasting for an eternity. The sorrowful atmosphere was having an affect on Neo too. Both her eyes turned brown as she stared down at Roman's hat and cane in her hands.

Terra soon stepped forward as well, being the first to break the stillness.

"There will be time for mourning later. We will hold a funeral once Midnight and Tawny return and we have eaten." She glanced around at everyone as she spoke. "Until then, I want you all to rest up from today's fight. We did a good job. We should be proud."

The orange-haired girl then turned and began to walk away, but soon stopped when she was beside Neo. She turned to face her, the solemn expression remaining on her face. "We won't overwhelm you with questions tonight. We'll get to that tomorrow. Go ahead and make yourself at home, sweetie." She then paused, sighing. "...Just don't get into any trouble, okay? We've had enough of that today already."

Neo furrowed her brow as Terra began to walk away from her, feeling concerned. She watched as the orange-haired girl trudged down the long hallway before disappearing around the corner. She hoped Terra would be all right...

"Um...e-excuse me…"

Neo turned around upon hearing the timid voice and found Laurel standing nearby. The other girls had already gone off as well. Glitter was still staring down at her work, unmoving.

The slightly taller girl smiled a little at her. "I-If you want, I could let you share my room with me tonight. It has a bunk bed." She averted her eyes and clasped her hands behind her back. "...I-I won't mind whatever you decide to do."

Laurel's caring nature surprised Neo greatly. Hardly anyone in her life had shown such unconditional kindness to her. She didn't deserve it, not after everything she had done. But then again, it would be nice to sleep in an actual bed for a change… Slowly, a smile spread across Neo's face and she nodded her head.

Laurel's smile widened as well. "Oh good! Wouldn't want you sleeping on the floor somewhere during your first day here. C'mon, my room's this way." She began to head down the hallway Terra had gone down earlier, and Neo quickly followed.

The hall wasn't as well-lit as Glitter's workplace. The overhead lights flickered constantly with an ominous hum as they walked. It was a little unnerving.

"Glitter's doing her best to fix the electricity over here," Laurel said, glancing over her shoulder as she walked. "She's so skilled. She can pretty much fix almost anything you give her."

They turned the corner, and pretty soon arrived at the door to Laurel's room. She opened the door slowly and held it open for Neo, motioning for her to step inside first before turning on the light. It was surprisingly rather small, but not cramped. The walls of the room were a faint yellowish-green with just a hint of gray. The bunk bed was tucked away into the far right corner near the window, which had its glass broken near the bottom left. There was a small, white sink and a mirror to the right, and to the left there was a black dresser drawer and chair. Multiple posters of Beacon Academy were hanging on the walls.

As Neo stepped inside, she looked down at the floor. A couple more posters were littered across the carpet along with a few clothes, food bags, and some photographs.

"Ah, I'm so sorry!" Laurel cried upon noticing the mess. She hurried into the room and scrambled to pick up the clothes and the trash. "I-It's not usually this messy, I swear!"

Neo bent down and helped Laurel by picking up the photographs. After all of them had been gathered, she studied the first one in her hand. It was a picture of Laurel with three other people - two girls and one guy - all of them standing in front of the statue at Beacon, smiling.

"O-oh...I see you found my photos…"

Neo looked up and noticed that Laurel was staring at her with a somber expression. Did she not want her to look at the photos? She held out the photographs towards Laurel so she could take them, but the brown-haired girl did not grab them. Laurel only looked down at the photos for a moment before bending down to pick up the two posters that were still on the floor. One was a poster for this year's Vytal Festival, and the other depicted Beacon with Professor Ozpin standing in front of it. However, it was torn where Ozpin was standing, cutting the man right in half. She placed them on top of the dresser and continued to stay silent until she turned to face Neo again.

"Are you hungry?" she asked. "I have some food if you want any."

Neo smiled and nodded her head in reply. She watched as Laurel got down and opened the lowest drawer. Curious, she walked over to the small drawer as well and peered inside. The drawer's contents consisted of a few granola bars, bags of chips, and what appeared to be an assortment of dried fruits.

"I-It's not much, I know," Laurel said as Neo took a small bag of dried strawberries. "But most of our food is in the kitchen, and we try to cook only once a day to conserve as much as possible. I think we're planning on scavenging for more later this week." She took a granola bar for herself and sat down on a nearby chair as Neo seated herself on the lower bunk of the bed, watching her as she glanced down at the photos in her hand again. "You want me to tell you about those?" she asked.

Neo looked up at Laurel again. She most certainly did want information regarding the photos, but the way Laurel had reacted to them moments ago made her hesitant. Still, after a few seconds, Neo nodded her head and handed the pictures to Laurel. As the brown-haired girl studied the first photograph, Neo opened her bag and began to munch on the dried strawberries.

After a moment, Laurel showed Neo the picture of her with the three other teens in front of Beacon's statue.

"It was my second year at Beacon this year. These are my teammates: Crystal, Roslyn, and Nephrite. We made up Team CRLN." She smiled a little and gave a quiet laugh. "Don't know if you saw the fight on TV but we got completely destroyed during the doubles round of the tournament."

She placed the photo in her lap before taking the time to study the next one. After a moment, she held it up to show Neo. It was a photo of a much younger Laurel standing with two older women in front of a small house. One had long, dark red hair, and the other had short, platinum blonde locks.

"These are my mothers, Iris and Amaranth. They had gone to Haven Academy and were on the same team together, but had moved here to Vale after they adopted me. They've gone back to Mistral by now, called away by the headmaster for something. Not sure what." Her face fell again, and she mumbled her next sentence. "I hope they write soon…"

Laurel then held up the third and final photograph. It showed Laurel and her team at a dance. Upon closer inspection, however, Neo realized that they were not alone in the photo.

They were posing with Team RWBY.

"Oh this was such a fun night!" Laurel exclaimed, beaming with happiness. She glanced at the photo again. "Team RWBY is just so awesome! I can't believe they're only first years!"

Neo narrowed her eyes, recalling the times she and Roman had fought Team RWBY. Awesome? More like annoying.

"Ruby is so adorable! I can't tell you how many times she made me laugh. And her dog is so cute! I'm amazed at how someone her age could be such a good leader! She has such a cool scythe!"

Neo's hands clenched into fists as she gritted her teeth in anger. Team RWBY had done nothing but cause problems for her and Roman. They were completely undeserving of this praise. It was Ruby's fault that she couldn't protect her partner in time. The adulation made her sick. She wanted Laurel to stop…

"It's such a shame that her sister Yang had gotten disqualified." Laurel sighed again. "I do hope that boy she hit is alright…" She became surprised when she looked up and saw Neo's angered expression. "Are you okay?"

At Laurel's question, Neo quickly regained her composure and nodded. She figured it would be best to keep the truth hidden from these girls, or at least tweak it a little. Laurel seemed to be a sensitive person. If Laurel found out that Neo had played a small part in Yang's disqualification and ultimately the fall of Beacon, she would most definitely be distraught.

Once again, Laurel was silent as she gazed down at the photos in her hand. Without saying a word, she got up and placed the pictures next to the posters on top of the dresser. The brown-haired girl stared solemnly at the poster of Ozpin in front of Beacon, and when she spoke she suddenly sounded like she was upset. "I...I'm so confused…"

Neo was finished with her food by now, and she slowly stood up. What was wrong?

Laurel kept her back facing Neo. "I-I stayed by Ozpin's side for two years, but now… after hearing that woman's speech…" She wiped her eyes with one hand. "I don't know what to believe..." Without warning, she turned to face Neo again, tears now present in her eyes. "I-I wanted to stand by my fellow students and defend the academy, but… a part of me told me to just run. I was convinced then that I couldn't trust Ozpin anymore, b-but I've been regretting my decision ever since! Yet I can't bring myself to leave here!" Her hands frantically gripped her hair. "I-I don't know what to think anymore!"

Neo cautiously took a step towards Laurel, both of her eyes suddenly turning white with concern and a hint of sympathy. She hadn't realized that the attack would cause some of the academy students to feel this way. She had just assumed that all of them would fight to defend their school. But now, seeing Laurel's distressed face, Neo could see that she had been wrong to believe such a thing.

Laurel was breathing quickly as she attempted to calm down. Eventually, she managed to lower her shaking hands, but her yellow-green eyes remained frantic as she met Neo's white ones.

"I-I'm sorry. I need a minute. Please excuse me. I'm sorry."

Before Neo could have a chance to stop her, Laurel rushed out of the room, leaving the small girl alone. Her eyes returned to their usual mismatched colors of brown and pink as she calmed down, recalling everything that had just happened. Was Laurel going to be okay? A part of Neo wanted to run after her, but she also didn't want to risk getting involved in anything that she shouldn't. She figured she wouldn't be able to really do that much to help Laurel anyway. She didn't know the girl well enough like the others.

She decided that she would just take a short nap before doing anything else. A lot had happened in these past few hours, and Neo needed some time to recharge. Besides, Terra had said that everyone should get some rest before Midnight and Tawny return.

With a sigh, Neo placed her weapons and Roman's hat beside her on the bed before staring out the window for a moment. The sun was starting to go down, painting the cloudy sky with faint hints of yellow and pink. She rather enjoyed watching sunsets. There was just something so fascinating about how the sky slowly changed from a peaceful pale blue into a fury of vibrant oranges and pinks.

Neo watched as the sky continued to slowly change colors. She managed to lose track of time while watching the spectacle. It could've been anywhere from a few minutes to a full half-hour before she finally lay down and closed her eyes, falling asleep on the soft mattress.

* * *

She abruptly woke back up when the strong smell of smoke suddenly reached her nostrils. Frantic, Neo glanced out the window. It appeared to be getting close to night time, as evident by the dullness of the oranges and reds in the sky. How long had she been asleep? Why had no one come to get her? Where was the fire?

Her last question was quickly answered when she suddenly spotted something outside. Terra was seated on the ground, her head lowered as what Neo could only assume to be Nightingale's body continued to burn before her some distance away. "Guess I missed the funeral," Neo thought to herself.

Seeing Terra so upset made Neo feel bad for her. She didn't deserve to suffer alone out there. Where were the others?

As Neo grabbed her parasol and began to get up off the bed, she suddenly became aware of a soft sound coming from the bunk above her. Was someone...crying? As she stood, she looked up. Laurel was currently lying down, facing the wall and quietly sobbing into her pillow.

Neo knitted her brows as she recalled Laurel's panic attack from earlier. She felt the urge to stay and comfort her again, but then she remembered that there wasn't much she could really do except listen. Their situations were entirely different.

"I'm sorry, Laurel," she thought to herself. Quietly as possible, she snuck out of the room, shutting the door behind her before heading down the hall.

She hadn't gone very far before she suddenly noticed Tawny. The faunus girl was currently seated against the wall, her head down as she stared aimlessly at the floor. She hardly moved except to brush her black bangs out of her eyes. When Neo walked over to her, she merely glanced up and stared at her for a moment with her orange eyes before putting her head back down, never uttering a single word. Her spotted cat ears remained lowered, further indicating her sadness.

Neo lingered in her spot for a bit longer, hoping that Tawny would say something, but her hopes were quickly dashed and she soon walked on.

As she searched for the exit, she noticed that one of the rooms had its door slightly ajar, the lights shining dimly from inside. Curious, Neo walked over and peered through the opening. She couldn't see much, but the room seemed a bit more organized than Laurel's.

Pretty soon, someone walked by the opening. It took Neo a moment to realize that it was Midnight. The girl was currently taking her hair out of her braid, letting it fall. She seemed to be pacing back and forth in the small room, and there was a noticeable amount of frustration present on her face.

Without warning, Midnight turned to face the wall farthest from the door and punched it with all her might.

The noise of the impact startled Neo, making her eyes flash white for a split second as she jumped. When Midnight lowered her hand, there was a rather noticeable hole in the wall about as large as her fist.

Quickly, Neo backed away from the door and ran down the hallway before Midnight could notice her watching.

It wasn't long before Neo suddenly found herself back in the lobby area. She took a moment to calm herself after what she had just witnessed with Midnight before looking around. Glitter was still seated at her workbench, hunched over Moonlight Relica while a single desk lamp illuminated the area.

At first, it seemed like Glitter was still hard at work on her weapon. However, upon closer examination, Neo could see that the silver-haired girl could hardly focus at all. She would constantly switch between tools, but every time she tried to use it she would slowly stop and just put it back down on the desk. Eventually, she picked up her screwdriver and began to turn it over and over, twisting the same screw in and out repeatedly.

Neo decided it would be best to also not bother Glitter at the moment. Quickly, she snuck past the girl and her workbench. Before long, she arrived at the black tarp separating the building's inhabitants from the outside. As she lifted the fabric, Neo cast one more quick glance in Glitter's direction before slipping out into the evening air.

She had to turn a few corners before she finally found the place where Terra was seated. The orange-haired girl stared down solemnly at something in her hands as Nightingale's body continued to burn before her. It took Neo a moment to realize that Terra was holding Nightingale's magenta bandana.

Terra seemed rather surprised when she looked up and saw Neo walking towards her. "H-Hey. What are you doing out here?" she asked, speaking softly.

Neo didn't say a word in response. When she was finally by Terra's side, she sat down, gazing into the girl's emerald-green eyes.

Terra gave a short laugh. "You didn't have to do this. I was fine on my own." But despite her words, a smile seemed to be tugging at her lips. When the gang leader realized that Neo wasn't going anywhere, she sighed and turned her head to stare at Nightingale's burning body. Neo followed her gaze.

For a while, all was quiet except for the crackling of the slowly-dying flames and the occasional howl of a beowolf in the distance. Then, keeping her eyes forward, Terra spoke again.

"I just can't believe it…I've lost yet another member..."

Neo turned her head to look at Terra again. Another member? Just how many had she lost?

Terra looked down at the bandana in her hands again. "What kind of leader just lets this happen?" She sounded like she would burst into tears soon. "I-I could've prevented this. If only I had avoided the blast in time..." A single tear began to roll down her cheek. "M-maybe Leaf was right. I-I don't have what it takes to do this kind of thing."

Neo furrowed her brow, empathizing with the orange-haired girl. She wished she could actually say something with her voice to help her feel better. Carefully, she took out her scroll and began to type a message on the screen. When she was finished, she held it up to show Terra, who hesitated before turning her head to read it.

It read:

 _"I know how you feel. I too lost someone because I couldn't be there for them."_

Terra's eyes widened slightly upon reading the message, and after a moment she stared up at Neo. "You…"

Neo's eyes lingered on the words she had just typed. More memories of Roman began to return to her. No longer would she get to work on designing schemes with him. No longer would she get to feel the satisfaction of him and her defeating their enemies together. Never again would she hear his triumphant laughter. Both of her eyes slowly changed to white as she realized this. With a bit of hesitation, she deliberately typed another, much shorter message. By the time she showed what she had typed to Terra, tears were beginning to form in her eyes.

 _"I miss him so much."_

Terra once again read what Neo had written, and upon noticing that Neo had started to cry gently put her arm around the smaller girl. "You poor thing…" she murmured.

Surprised, Neo's eyes widened as Terra gently pulled her closer so that her head rested on the orange-haired girl's shoulder. But after a moment of silence between the two of them, Neo got used to it. Terra seemed to be a very complicated person, but at least they had at least one thing in common at the moment.

As the flames consuming Nightingale's body began to die down, Neo slowly closed her eyes. It wasn't long before she fell asleep on Terra's shoulder.


End file.
